Chapter 5: WWE Raw 8/26/24

WWE Raw

August 26th, 2024

Providence, RI

Rhea sat on the bed in her hotel room and pulled out her sleeveless Damian Priest El Campeon shirt. What a rotten fucking week. The hell from work was bleeding into Rhea's personal life. After a brief reprise turned sour, she felt sick to her stomach. She slipped on the shirt, comforted that she hadn't lost everything.

She arrived at the arena, and her clothes for tonight had gone walkabout. She looked everywhere, scouring all her things and even asking others if they happened to notice her outfit somewhere or if her clothes got mixed into their wardrobes. No one saw anything… At least that is what everyone said – including Dom, who had a shit eating grin that made her want to punch him in the junk.

"What's so fucking funny?" She asked him.

Putting a hand over his mouth, he gave a muffled response. "Nothing, Mamacita! Just thinking you're gonna have to go out there naked."

Rhea rolled her eyes. "Don't fucking go there, Dom," she sighed. "And no more 'Mami' from you."

Dom threw up his arms, his eyes appearing to flash genuine shock. "What, no Mami?" He smiled. "We're still good, right, Dems?"

Rhea didn't know. What was the point of trying to find out, sifting through theatre and lies for illusive intentions? She shook her head and walked away.

Buddy left for his match in Wales a few days ago, and they hadn't talked since then. What few words they'd exchanged before his departure was tense and maddening. Who would ever imagine their first marital fight would involve such a serious allegation? She could see why Buddy thought she had cheated on him. At the same time, she couldn't.

This was maddening. She had to talk to him. Rhea took out her phone, opened her recently called list, and stared at Buddy's number.

She knew what happened. She wasn't in so much pain or on so many drugs or gaslit or out of her mind to the extent of losing touch with reality. She and Damian were definitely locked in that room. Damian was too out of it and genuine to have had anything to do with that scenario. And she'd turned that knob herself. The door was legit locked when she tried it. But when Buddy and Al arrived, that knob was smooth on both sides with no locking mechanism.

Rhea's pleas with Buddy came off sounding like weak ass excuses for infidelity. Talk just made the situation worse. She knew the words were killing him. The more she said, the more she saw his anger burn and the more she hurt. Neither of them talked past the piss poor attempts within the first few hours after he had rescued her.

She put away her phone. She leaned over her legs and put her head in her hands. She inhaled and exhaled, counting her breaths. She had to keep it together. She couldn't fall apart on Damian again.

Maybe it would have been better for everyone if she and Damian were still locked in there, tripping on prescription painkillers until their ultimate demise. If she were the best thing going for him, then he was seriously fucked. And she was seriously fucked if Buddy didn't want anything to do with her now.

Rhea pressed her fingers into closed eyes. She had to consider the possibility that she was fair dinkum unhinged. The storyline was messing with her so badly. Mentally and physically, she ached. She could fight with a bung shoulder, bruises, and a bad ass headache. But Buddy's fuming silence, his even thinking she cheated, the heartache, the second guessing herself and her grasp on reality, the threat of another panic attack… She went back to counting her breaths. She didn't have a match tonight, but she needed one.

First up was Judgment Day verses LWO. She didn't know about Damian - they hadn't spoken either - but she was there to keep Judgment Day in line if they tried to pull anything.

The show started. She stood in the wings of the entrance stage with her arms crossed. She watched the monitor intently. She listened to the trash talk. She watched the first match of the night, which was actually clean. Judgment Day won. Then they just brawled.

THIS IS MY BRUTALITY!

Rhea emerged from one stage wing… and Damian from the other. They locked eyes and shed their outer layers. Then they bolted down the ramp together. Rhea went left, Damian right. She chased Liv around the back of the ring. Liv tried to escape up the stairwell. Rhea grabbed her foot and swung her into the back retaining wall, the announcers' table, and ring post in rapid succession. Liv slid to the floor.

Rhea hopped into the ring. She was alone with the roar of the fans. Then Dom came flying in, Damian looming behind him. Dom backed away from her. Thankful for a soul to squeeze, Rhea gave Dom a wave. Damian ascended the steps. She caught sight of his sleeveless Rhea Bloody Ripley shirt and smiled. She closed in on Dom… but staggered backwards herself. Someone was on her back. Liv. She spun, attempting to buck off Liv, who was pounding on her. Rhea grabbed the top rope and put her metalhead skills to task. She headbanged until she felt Liv's grip slipping until it was gone. Rhea was free. Liv, Dom, and Finn scrambled out of the ring and ran down the ramp.

Rhea clotheslined JD seconds before Damian did the same to Carlito. So in sync and so unplanned. Damian made eye contact, and she turned toward the cheering crowd. She felt his hand on the small of her back.

"Let's finish this," Damian said, and she nodded.

Rhea grabbed JD by the neck while Damian did the same with Carlito. They paused, then delivered simultaneous chokeslamsto applause. Adrenaline hummed through Rhea.

It slammed to a halt backstage when Damian clasped a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Are you all right?"

Rhea huffed a breath out her nose. Her chest tightened, and tears sprang to her eyes. She shook her head, and the Terror Twins held onto one another.